Pansy/viola care
PANSY viola x wittrockiana
One of my favorite flowers is the pansy. The flat-faced, lightly fragranced flowers that come in dozen of colors always make me smile. They are great in flower boxes, hanging baskets and bedding plants.
Pansies can be grown in areas where the summers are cool and winters are mild as they tolerate temperatures below freezing (-15F) and prefer cool summer temperatures below 85F.
In southern states, pansy is grown as a winter flowering plant. It will bloom in the fall, thrive in winter and again start blooming in spring.
In the north, it is mostly grown as an annual but new cultivars such as ‘Skyline’, ‘Sky’, ‘Etain’, ‘Maxims’, Unviersal Plus’ have been known to be both heat and cold tolerant providing a longer blooming period. The super hardy varieties can survive the winter as far north as zone 4 as long as they are planted early enough in the season. Pansies stop developing new roots when soil temperatures drop below 45 degrees, therefore it is important to plant early in order to establish a good root system before the soil freezes. When freezing winds begin to fly, add 2-3″ of mulch for protection.
Care: Plant pansies in rich, moist, well-drained soil in full sun to dappled shade and protect from the hot summer sun. Space them 6-8 inches apart. Add a balanced fertilizer at the time of planting and for maximum bloom, give the plant additional light feedings once a month over the growing period. Water early in the day (1/2-1″ per wk) to provide even moisture and avoid over-head watering to prevent fungal disease.
They bloom best in early spring before the hot summer sets in which causes them to stop blooming. For additional fall bloom, cut the plants down to 2 inches in July and fertilize. They will bounce back with the cooler temperatures.
Deadheading will prolong bloom time and pinching periodically will produce a bushy plant.
Pansies can be started from seeds in late winter 10-12 weeks before the last frost date
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Hi,
Early in the spring, I had some hanging potted plants that had, among other plants, some pansies and violas. They went to seed and suddenly I had beautiful violas all over my garden. I would like to keep some and grow them again next year. I have been ‘harvesting’ the teenie seeds by shaking the pods into a plastic bag, but this is very difficult, as the seeds are about 1/10th the size of a poppy seed. How can I save some of the plants over the winter?
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What is the best fertilizer for pansies
I have several pots of pansies mixed with violas on my deck. This morning I noticed that they are covered with little white bugs, almost unrecognizable they are so tiny. The bugs are in crawling stage and ineff/larvae stage. How can I get rid of them to protect my beatiful flowers? What are they?
I planted pansies in the spring they had big faces on them, now their the size of viola’s, I put some food on them but that didn’t seem to make a difference. I planted under a tree they do get the later after noon sun.
what should i do to make them happy again
Judy H
Comment on Plant & Gardening Tips, for topic: Pansy/viola care
The lawn service used a leaf blower on my pansies. They are now flattened. Will they straighten up again. Is there anything I can do to correct the flattening? The lawn service has been aprised of their deed, however, I want to help my panises.
thank you,
Donna
I received 5 potted pansy arrangements as a gift. Can I leave them in the pots through the summer & plant them in the ground early fall.
Thank you,
Carolyn
My company planted some pansies in a flower bed by the entrance to the parking lot. Sometime during the night, something uprooted the pansies and just left them sitting on top of the ground. Can you tell me what animal could have done this?
Thank you,
Nona
I was thrilled that my pansies had seeded from last year….I have several pots as I have only have a small garden/yard….
I noticed this morning they looked wilted even though they had been watered…to my horror at a closer inspection they are infested with whitefly…little blighters have sucked them dry….they have just flopped over…
I sprayed them with soapy water spray….would it be wise to throw them out they do look too far gone…to think they were beautiful last week….
many thanks…
Irene
I planted pansies in pots the middle of June. They are in afternoon shade. How can I keep them in bloom for an event the end of August? We live in the upper penninsula of Michigan.